The Christmas Case

Chapter 2:

A/N: We all know SVU is a show of many twists. And I’ve tried to capture that here. Prepare for a biggie. Please let me know what you think.

“Tucker Brody, forty seven,” Munch read from the employee file that the mall had provided them “His background check was clean.”

“It’s got to be an alias,” Olivia commented from her desk as she shifted through a stack of papers.

“Not necessarily,” Munch told the group “You said you saw a Santa on the security tape. That doesn’t mean it was Brody.”

“Yeah right Munch,” Elliot said almost angrily from where he was standing, ready to move as soon as they had something “The mall was just crawling with guys in Santa suits,” he stepped forward glaring at Munch “The guy took an eight year old kid. Cut the crap,” he turned and stormed out of the squad room.

Without a word, Olivia stood up and followed him. She caught up with him in the hallway “Elliot,” she called after him.

He stopped and turned to her. His face was a mixture of anger and despair “A guy dressed like Santa took a kid, in a shopping mall, there had to be at least a hundred people who saw something,” he said as his shoulders slumped.

“I know,” Olivia said compassionately “But getting mad at Munch isn’t going to help find Amy Sawyer any quicker.”

Elliot nodded “I need some air,” he told Olivia as walked past her.

She stood there for a few seconds longer than she probably should have, watching him leave. This was hurting him and he seemed to be taking his normal approach to the things that got to him and was keeping it to himself. She would try to talk to him again later. She sighed and turned to head back into the squad room.

“I’m just saying,” Munch was lecturing Fin and Lake when she returned “From an early age, Christian children are taught to believe that an old man breaks into their houses while they’re sleeping and leaves presents. They place a lot of trust in Santa Claus.”

“Do we have anything yet?” Olivia asked as she returned to her desk.

“Maybe,” Lake said, looking up from his computer. Olivia moved her chair closer to his desk. He turned to her “Your partner okay?” he asked.

Olivia shook her head but answered in the affirmative “Yeah, he’ll be fine,” she said unsurely. “What’ve you got?” she asked, turning the topic back to business.

“I found this,” he said and pointed to the screen of his computer.

Olivia leaned closer and read “It’s a police report from Nebraska from almost three years ago,” she observed, not yet understanding what this had to do with their case.

“Yeah,” Lake nodded “The guy goes to pick his daughter up at kindergarten one day only to find out that his wife already picked her up. He never hears from her again.”

“It’s heartbreaking,” Olivia remarked “But what does this have to do with Amy Sawyer?”

Lake typed something on his keyboard and a picture of the missing five year old appeared “Look familiar?” he asked.

Olivia scrutinized the picture. Lot’s of little girls around that age looked alike “Do you think that someone though Amy was this…” she looked closer to read the name “Anne Brody…?” the name rang a bell instantly in her mind “Wait,” she grabbed the mouse from Lake and called up the name of the father who had reported the girl missing.

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Elliot paced the roof, talking into his cell phone “Yeah, I can pick it up… No, it’s not a problem… There’s still six days until Christmas, that’s plenty of time… Don’t worry about it Kathy… I can handle it… I love you too… Bye,” he hung up and turned just in time to see Olivia stepping out onto the roof.

“What’s up?” she asked as she approached him.

“Dickie wants this new video game for Christmas and Kathy can’t seem to find it anywhere,” he explained.

Olivia leaned against the wall overlooking the city below and turned her gaze to rest on her partner “There’s still time,” she said reassuringly.

“I know,” Elliot said as he leaned against the wall beside her.

“How’s the baby?” Olivia asked suddenly. She hadn’t seen Elliot Jr. since the day he had been born.

“He’s good,” Elliot replied, his voice far away sounding. Suddenly he turned to her “Why would someone take a child from a shopping mall this close to Christmas?” he asked. When Olivia didn’t answer right away, he continued “I used to take my kids to see Santa at the mall every year,” he hung his head “All the things I ever suspected lurking in the shadows of everyday life, I never thought of this one.”

Silence fell between them for a long time before Olivia spoke “We think Brody took Amy because he thought she was his daughter.”

Elliot was about to say something when Lake and Fin appeared in the doorway to the roof “What have you got now?” Olivia asked when she saw the looks on their faces.

“Last known photo of Lola Brody,” Lake said as he handed her the computer printout.

Olivia and Elliot stared at the face looking back at them from the page. “Son of a bitch,” Olivia breathed.

“Linda Sawyer,” Elliot stated.

“Amy went with him willingly because Brody is her father,” Lake told them.

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“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Linda said as she rocked her fussy toddler in her arms “I’ve lived in New York all my life.”

“You’re a liar,” Elliot stated plainly. He was fighting to keep his emotions under control but he was finding it difficult.

“Linda,” Olivia said, trying to play the good cop in the situation while at the same time, trying to keep her partner from becoming the bad cop when it wasn’t warranted “We know that you legally changed your name and your daughter’s name. We know about your husband and that he had filed for separation. We just want to hear your side of the story.”

Linda set Cooper down and watched as he scampered off to his room “We were fighting with each other all the time, nothing physical, just words. He told me that he wanted a divorce and that he was going to take Amy away from me. I guess I snapped. One day I picked her up from school and I just kept driving,” she sighed and leaned heavily against the kitchen counter “So you’re saying Amy’s with Tucker?”

“We believe so, yes,” Olivia told her.

A look of pure relief flooded Linda’s face “At least she’s safe,” she turned to Elliot and Olivia “Are you going to arrest me now?”

Olivia looked at Elliot, his emotions seemed to be well under control now; the rage that had been bubbling below the surface was now gone. They stared at each other in confusion for a moment. Neither of them had any intention of arresting Linda; Amy was their first priority. Olivia turned back to Linda “Not at this time,” she told her.

“Just don’t leave town,” Elliot added as he and Olivia turned to leave the house.

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“This is just one big mess,” Elliot remarked as he and Olivia walked down the sidewalk together “She took the kid then three years later he takes the kid back.”

“I don’t like this,” Olivia observed as they reached the car “How did Brody know where to find them?”

Elliot’s cell phone rang before he could respond and he flipped it open “Stabler,” he answered. After a brief pause he thanked the person on the other end and hung up. He turned to Olivia “Why don’t we ask him? State troopers just pulled him over a few miles from the state line.”

“Amy…?” Olivia asked immediately.

“Safe and sound in the backseat,” Elliot said as he slid into the driver’s seat “They’re on their way to the precinct now.”

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“Santa said he was going to take me to Daddy,” Amy said as she picked up the juice box had set in front of her.

Olivia nodded. When the state troopers had picked up Brody, he had still been wearing the Santa suit “Did Santa say anything else?” she asked gently.

Amy was quiet for a bit before answering “He said we were going to go far away, somewhere where Mom wouldn’t be able to break us up again.”

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Tucker Brady sat across the table from Elliot, still wearing the Santa suit, minus the hat and beard “I just wanted to see my kid for Christmas,” he explained.

“How did you know that your wife was in New York?” Elliot asked in an understanding tone. He didn’t know what he would do if he hadn’t seen his kids in over two years. He would probably go insane.

“I didn’t,” Brody explained “I just got lucky I guess,” he laughed humorlessly “I figured it was time for a fresh start so I came out here to make a new life for myself,” he paused and looked away “It hasn’t been going so well. I’ve been taking odd jobs here and there. A couple of weeks ago I got a job as a Santa. I love seeing all those happy kids,” a small smile spread across his face before it quickly disappeared “My first day on the job, I saw that lying bitch comeing out of the toy store. She had an armload of bags and didn’t see me, not that she would have recognized me in the suit,” he gave another laugh that lacked emotion. “When I got off that night, I saw her again and I followed her home. I wasn’t going to do anything but today… Amy came to see me. She sat on my lap and told me that all she wanted for Christmas this year was to see me,” Tucker broke down crying.

Elliot nodded and offered Tucker Brody a box of tissues as he watched the other man falling apart.

A/N: Well, there you have chapter two. I hope you enjoyed it. I’ll try to update again soon.